More Students Will Get Scholarships This Fall At Alamo Colleges

Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union presented $150,000 to the Alamo Colleges Foundation for an endowed scholarship to be named after its former president and CEO Randy M. Smith, who now serves as an advisor to the credit union’s board.

Jim Eskin, executive director of the foundation said 3,600 students applied for one of its scholarships last year but only one-third were able to receive it due to a funding shortage.

"The foundation board’s vision is to be able to award a scholarship to every student who applies and is eligible and we’ve set fundraising targets to reach that goal – to achieve that vision - by the year 2015," Eskin said. "This is a very significant step to bridging the gap."

The money will be distributed to students in the 2013 Fall semester.

"The scholarship amount varies," Eskin added. "Last year the average scholarship was about $899 and that’s more than half of tuition, fees, and educational expense."

In order to award scholarships to all that apply, about $2.5 million more is needed.